Shoppers Are Rushing Back to the Mall -- or Are They?
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lots of businesses, but few were hurt more than mall owners. Most mall tenants are considered nonessential businesses, and crowded indoor malls could easily turn into deadly breeding grounds for the novel coronavirus. As a result, most malls were forced to close their doors in late March. Many tenants stopped paying rent shortly thereafter.
However, malls have started to reopen around the country over the past two months or so. If a recent press release from mall heavyweight Macerich (NYSE: MAC) is to be believed, traffic is picking up quickly and things should soon be back to normal. Yet investors should take this bullish update with a grain of salt. Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be a slow and painful process for mall owners.
Macerich is one of the biggest mall owners in the U.S., owning all or part of 47 indoor and outdoor malls, as well as a handful of other properties. Last Thursday, the REIT "announced that all 47 of the company's major retail properties nationwide are now open for business."
Source Fool.com
